Greece Opens Yeni Mosque in Thessaloniki for Eid Muslim Prayers

The iconic Yeni Mosque in Thessaloniki, Greece, will be open for the first time in more than 100 years for Muslim prayers during Eid al-Fitr on April 10, Greek authorities announced.

The Ottoman monument was built by Italian architect Vitaliano Poselli in 1902 for the city’s Dönmeh community, crypto-Jewish converts to Islam. .

After the Greco-Turkish war of 1919-22 and the Treaty of Lausanne, the Dönmeh along with the other Muslims living in Greece were “exchanged” with Christians in Turkey (i.e., Greece and Turkey agreed to take in each other’s religious refugees resulting from the terms of the treaty).

Muslim prayers at the Yeni Mosque after more than a century

Its minaret — like most minarets in Thessaloniki — was subsequently demolished. Christian refugees from Asia Minor lived inside the Yeni Mosque in 1924, after which time it became the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.

In its courtyard, there is a rich collection of marble sculptures from the Roman era and the early Christian period (sarcophagi, funerary monuments, reliefs, honorary and funerary columns) from all over Thessaloniki. Today it serves as an exhibition center and hosts various cultural activities.

Thessaloniki has several Ottoman buildings that represent part of the history of the second-largest Greek city.

Several mosques have been preserved, such as the Hamza Bey Camii of 1467 – 68, the Alaca Imaret Camii of 1484, the Yeni Camii of the early 20th century, as well as other public buildings, such as the Bay Hamam, an impressive double bath of the mid 15th century, an inn and some fountains in the upper city.

Greece opens Rhode’s Suleymaniye Mosque for prayers

Given the preparations for Ramadan, Greece has also decided to open the Suleymaniye Mosque on Rhodes for Eid prayers.

It was originally built after the Ottoman conquest of Rhodes in 1522 and is named after Sultan Suleiman to commemorate his conquest. The mosque was reconstructed in 1808 and has been restored several times since. It is the most significant surviving Ottoman-era monument in Rhodes.

In Attica, apart from the Athens Mosque in Votanikos, there are 15 licensed mosques. Unofficial ones are estimated at 55 to 60. There are some 300 mosques operating in Thrace, and one each in Kos, Rhodes, Thiva and Thessaloniki.

Muslim Greeks number about 125,000 and live primarily in Thrace. In Attica, Muslim refugees and migrants are estimated at 250,000.

Organizations in areas where there are no Muslim prayer spaces can apply to the local municipalities to be granted closed spaces on April 10.

The decision by Greek authorities to open the Mosques for Muslim prayers follows a period when relations with Turkey are improving follwing the visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Athens last December.

The Turkish President and Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis signed a friendship declaration in a symbolic move that confirmed the warming of relations between the two nations.

Earlier this week Greece and Turkey reiterated their joint commitment to build on the existing positive momentum during a meeting of foreign ministry officials in Ankara.